SAN FRANCISCO—After nearly 50 years as a leading LGBTQ civil rights organization, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) announced today that it is changing its name to the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) to better reflect its longtime commitment to advocacy on behalf of the full LGBTQ community.  

NCLR was founded in 1977 by Donna Hitchens, who went on to become the first openly lesbian judge elected to the bench in the United States, and Roberta Achtenberg, the first openly LGBTQ person appointed to a position requiring U.S. Senate confirmation. NCLR’s original name reflected the fact that it was the first national LGBTQ organization to be founded by women. The organization was revolutionary because it recognized that lesbian women faced unique legal challenges that were not being addressed by existing gay rights organizations, which tended to focus on issues more relevant to gay men. By c... More

“There is nothing voluntary about forced separation,” says GLAD Law’s Jennifer Levi

WASHINGTON, DC—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed transgender servicemembers to self-identify for separation by today, June 6—July 7 for reservists—or face “involuntary separation.” GLAD Law and NCLR report that transgender servicemembers are struggling with an impossible choice. Many say that “voluntary” separation is misleading. Yet they fear the unknown consequences of the involuntary separation process for themselves and their families. More

Late-night letter brief argues the Supreme Court’s explanation-less order in a different case—that did not consider animus—does not impact Talbott, and the preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the ban should remain in effect

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last night, the plaintiffs in Talbott filed a letter brief with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals responding to yesterday’s Supreme Court order in the related Shilling case and alerting the court to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s open disparagement of transgender troops.

The letter brief notes that the Supreme Court order in the Shilling case yesterday is not binding on the DC Circuit’s pending resolution of the government’s request for a stay in Talbott More

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Supreme Court of the United States today granted the Trump administration’s April 24 motion for an emergency stay in United States v. Shilling. This motion asked the Supreme Court to block a preliminary injunction preventing the ban from being implemented while the case is being heard in the courts,  following the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals’ April 18 decision to reject the Trump administration’s motion to stay and uphold the preliminary injunction.

The lead attorneys in the first two transgender military b... More

Brief calls out harm of “unprecedented” and “unAmerican” plan to target transgender servicemembers for immediate discharge; even Trump’s short-lived 2018 ban never resulted in more than a temporary pause in recruitment

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, the plaintiffs, 32 transgender servicemembers and recruits, in Talbott v. USA (formerly Talbott v. Trump) filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States, urging the Court to leave multiple preliminary injunctions in place preventing implementation of President Trump’s transgender military ban.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights congratulates Helen Carroll on her induction into Sports Equality Foundation’s LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame. A former NCAA coach, Helen in 2001 launched NCLR’s Sports Project, the first-ever national legal advocacy program for LGBTQ athletes, coaches, and staff, which she led until 2017. As NCLR’s Sports Project Director, Helen helped LGBTQ athletes and coaches obtain pro bono legal representation, conducted educational conferences and panels around the country, and worked alongside NCLR’s attorneys on legal cases involving LGBTQ student-athletes.  

Helen was also instrumental in the founding and development of the Common Ground program, an NCAA/NCLR initiative created to bridge the gap between LGBTQ athletes, faith-based colleges and universities, LGBTQ organizations, and individuals of faith at NCAA me... More

Lead attorneys for the plaintiffs call the ban an “alarming threat to the trust needed to maximize national security” that would “permanently damage the careers of thousands of individuals who have served honorably and sacrificed for our country” 

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the plaintiffs, 32 transgender servicemembers and recruits, in Talbott v. USA (formerly Talbott v. Trump) filed an opposition to the government’s motion for an emergency stay. The motion for an emergency stay is yet... More

Lead attorneys in earlier case Talbott v. Trump respond to the now second nationwide preliminary injunction—this time in the case of Shilling v. Trump

WASHINGTON, DC—In Shilling v. Trump today, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Hale Settle issued what will now be a second nationwide preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the transgender military ban resulting from Trump’s January executive order. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes in Talbott v. Trump issued a first nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the ban. In a forceful order in which Judge Reyes held that the ban undermines national security and is likely unconstitutional she called it “soaked with animus and dripping with pr... More

Lead attorneys for the plaintiffs say military families face a “crushing amount of pressure” and that the motion to dissolve was “nothing more than a disingenuous, last-ditch tactic to sow confusion and cause delay”

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes today rejected a Trump administration motion to dissolve the nationwide preliminary injunction issued in Talbott v. Trump. Judge Reyes issued the injunction on March 18 in a forceful order in which she held that the ban undermines national security and is likely unconstitutional, calling it “soaked with animus and dripping with pretext.”  Defendants filed the motion to dissolve on March 21.

In her opinion today, Judge Reyes denied Defendants’ moti... More

Despite serving with distinction in the U.S. Air Force for years Staff Sergeant Nicholas Bear Bade and Master Sergeant Logan Ireland have been pulled from key deployments and placed on administrative absence against their will because of the transgender military ban

The New Jersey federal district court today granted a Temporary Restraining Order to keep Staff Sergeant Nicholas Bear Bade and Master Sergeant Logan Ireland from being further impacted by the Trump administration’s transgender military ban while a case challenging it in D.C. federal district court moves forward.

Staff Sergeant Bade and Master Sergeant Ireland have been pulled from key deployments and placed on administrative absence against their will because of the ban. Amid increasingly unpredictable directives from the Department of Defense and the Air Force, both Plaintiffs so... More

“A couples’ decision to have a baby together is often profoundly intimate and may not be so easily reduced to a transaction," state high court says in landmark decision establishing a legal standard that will allow secure parental relationships for children born through assisted reproduction

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a major ruling protecting a lesbian mother’s parental status and affirming the recognition of legal parentage for children born through assisted reproduction.

The case, Glover v. Junior, concerned a married, non-genetic, non-gestational mother, Nicole Junior, who planned with her now former spouse to conceive and raise a child through assisted reproduction. In its March... More

At every turn, this administration has betrayed working people and taken away information, opportunity, access, and financial security. Drastically reducing the Department of Education is another example of this. Education is central to eliminating barriers to economic and social opportunities, including providing access to community and healthcare resources and lifting people out of poverty. A robust education system is critical for a functioning democracy. This cut will be felt across the country, and for years to come.  

The Department of Education provides critical resources and oversight that benefit all children. This is especially critical for students in rural and low-income communities and students with special needs among others. Cutting the department’s workforce in half and shuttering offices of the department around the country will have devastating consequences for services related to Ti... More

"The Court's unambiguous factual findings lay bare how this ban specifically targets and undermines our courageous service members who have committed themselves to defending our nation. Given the Court's clear-eyed assessment, we are confident this ruling will stand strong on appeal,” said GLAD Law’s Jennifer Levi

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes today issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in Talbott v. Trump, the legal challenge to President Trump’s transgender military ban executive order brought by LGBTQ+ legal groups GLAD Law and NCLR. Judge Reyes heard arguments on the motion for preliminary injunction in Washington, DC last Wednesday, March 12.

“The government has nothing to back up the aggressive actions they are already taking to remove people from positions and posts they are serving in across the globe,” says GLAD Law

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes heard arguments yesterday in Talbott v. Trump to make a determination about whether to issue a preliminary injunction that would block implementation of the transgender military ban resulting from President Trump's executive order. She is expected to issue her decision on ... More

NCLR is deeply disappointed by recent comments about transgender student-athletes by Governor Newsom, which appeared designed to pander to the hateful political scapegoating of transgender people rather than to engage this issue in a thoughtful or responsible way. This is particularly disappointing given Governor Newsom’s long record of supporting equality and helping the public recognize the humanity of LGBTQ people and their families.

“Across this country there is an all-out attack on transgender people through discriminatory executive actions, as well as state and federal policy.” said Imani Rupert-Gordon, President of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “Right now, transgender kids are being criminalized for who they are, and it’s disappointing to see Governor Newsom turn his back on the LGBTQ community during one of the most critical times in our fight for equity.”

GLAD Law and NCLR, representing six transgender servicemembers and two individuals seeking to enlist, have asked a D.C. federal court to block enforcement of Trump’s transgender military ban while their case against it, Talbott v. Trump, proceeds

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) today asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block enforcement of President Trump’s January 27, 2025, order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, while litigation against the ban proceeds.

The motion asserts that President Trump’s ban viol... More

NCLR, GLAD Law, Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP and Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP represent three transgender women in a case challenging a federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) policy directed by President Trump which would override Prison Rape Elimination Act protections for vulnerable populations, including transgender women, and would terminate all medical care for gender dysphoria for incarcerated individuals. As a result of the policy, which stems from a January 20, 2025, Executive Order issued by President Trump, the plaintiffs were at imminent risk of being moved to a men’s facility and having their necessary medical care withdrawn.

The complaint, filed January 30, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the policies required by the new executive order violate the Administrative Procedure Act because they are arbitrary and capricious and also directly conflict wi... More

 
GLAD Law and NCLR File Challenge to Trump’s Transgender Military Ban 
 
Plaintiffs bring decades of experience across all military branches, contributing among the highest levels of service 

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) have filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging President Trump’s January 27, 2025, order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.  

The suit, Talbott v. Trump, was filed on equal protection grounds on behalf of six... More

The executive orders issued today attempt to remove established legal protections for transgender individuals, refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants. These orders are both illegal and fundamentally opposed to our democratic values.

The president's authority does not extend to unilaterally canceling existing nondiscrimination protections for transgender people, many of which have been established for decades. Furthermore, these orders conflict with federal asylum laws and the Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantee of birthright citizenship.

We recognize the fear and anxiety these orders have created within affected communities. Every individual in our nation deserves equal rights, dignity, and legal protection. Transgender people and immigrants are integral members of communities across America.

National Center for Lesbian Rights Condemns House Passage of Transgender Sports Ban 

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-206 in support of H.R.28, a federal bill that would ban all transgender girls and women from participation in school sports. 

Imani Rupert-Gordon, President of NCLR, issued the following statement: 

 “We all support fairness and safety in sports, but we don’t need federal politicians pushing a one size fits all rule. Policies about sports eligibility should be left to sports authorities who can make rules for different sports at different levels. This bill would be terrible for women and girls, forcing them to answer invasive personal questions about their bodies. This is a... More